A special night of music and talk named “Am I a man who dreamt of being a sound, or am I a sound dreaming that I am a man?” by two Jrai artists R’Cham Tih and Ksor Sep will be held on January 8, 2021 in Hanoi.

Traditional music of Jrai ethnic minority in the Central Highlands need to be preserved/ Photo: Vietnam Tourism

The night of music and talks will bring an extraordinary experience of the native culture of the Central Highlands to the public of Hanoi.

A special night of music and talk named “Am I a man who dreamt of being a sound, or am I a sound dreaming that I am a man?” by two Jrai artists R’Cham Tih and Ksor Sep will be held on January 8, 2021 in Hanoi.

At the event, the two artists will play traditional Jrai musical instruments such as the k'ni, ting ning and t'rung, among others, sing hri as well as tell audience their Jrai epic tales called “Khan”.

'Am I a man who dreamt of being a sound, or am I a sound dreaming that I am a man?’ will take Hanoi audience on an aural journey to the never-heard music and epics of Jrai people, bring them an extraordinary experience of native culture in the Central Highlands.

Folk artist R’Cham Tih was born and grew up in Jut Village in the Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) province of Gia Lai. Started to play musical instruments from a very young age, R’Cham Tih is a talented musician and craftsman, master of many Central Highlands instruments such as Ting Ning, K’ni, T’rung and K’loong Put.

Jarai ethnic minority in Central Highlands/ Photo: ASEAN Heritage & History

Being so passionate about the Central Highland music that he even named his children after the musical instruments, Tih devoted himself to the preservation and development of Jrai traditional music and the land as well. He is also a passionate teacher who becomes an inspiration for local young generation.

Meanwhile, artist Ksor Sep was born and raised in Brel village, Gia Lai province. He learned to tell Khan (epic) and sing Hri at the age of 15. It is the Jrai custom that the people gathered every night to sing Hri and tell Khan after a day of hard work on the fields.

Today this ancient tradition seems to be forgotten and there is hardly anyone who can sing Hri and remember any epic, except Ksor Sep, who is probably the last person in his village. With a wonderful oral memory, Sep is indeed a treasure trove of native knowledge of the Jrai people. Unfortunately, since his village has stopped to practice traditional rituals, Sep no longer has a chance to meet the villagers, drink some wine, and tell them epics like before.

The music and talk will take place at 7p.m on Friday, January 8, 2021 at Manzi Art Space, No14 Phan Huy Ich street, Ba Dinh district, Hanoi. The event will be conducted in Vietnamese and the seating is limited. A minimum contribution of VND100,000 or US$4.3 per each audience will be required and collected at door during check-in prior to the event. All donations from the audience will be given to the artists.